Uncertainties
by Cherished Dreams
Summary: He smiled softly. Her whole system wavered and her courage failed her slightly at that very moment. It took all her free will to smile back at him.


**Uncertainties  
By **Cherished Dreams

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own the song either.

* * *

Her eyes traveled across the large oak table and looked at him with her chocolate coloured orbs. She didn't expect him to raise his head and catch her. 

Chocolate to Emerald.

Their eyes were locked and he smiled softly. Her whole system wavered and her courage failed her slightly at that very moment. It took all her free will to smile back at him. She had fallen in love with those emerald gemstones he called eyes. He looked back down at his parchment and continued his essay.

She was mad at herself for not being able to control the strange sensation that tingled her senses. Her hand brought the book that she was reading closer to her eyes. She, the girl that topped all of her classes with standing ovations, their trio's know-it-all, and head girl, was torn between what she should do.

She wanted to tell him.

She wanted him to hold her in his arms and tell me that he felt the same way.

But she couldn't help but think of the all the horrible consequences that might occur. Images of him looking at her incredulously popped into her head, and things like him avoiding her and their seven-year friendship going down the drain.

She unconsciously slammed the book down with a frown, and startled the boy across the table and herself. " 'mione are you feeling aright? " She looked up and found that her best friend had a worried expression on his face. She replaced her frown with a weak smile. " I-I'm alright Harry. Sorry 'bout that."

He shook his head and put his quill down. " 'mione you're obviously not alright. " He paused a second, hesitated but ventured on. " Look at you, you've got dark purple bags under your eyes, " he signaled with his hands, " and your robes are barely clinging onto you. " Harry looked at her and frowned. " Ron and I have noticed this for about a fortnight already and we're really worried about you. "

Harry was worried about her, when this was his entire fault to begin with!

He had been the only person to place butterflies in her stomach, get blood flooding fast around her cheeks and have her hold her breath when he smiled at her. She clutched her head and tried to massage her temples but they started to hurt even more. She scrunched up her face in frustration. The tears that began rimming her eyes were stinging her now and her vision started to blur. He stood up abruptly, walked over and kneeled beside her. " Oh dear Merlin. I-I'm sorry Hermione. Please don't cry. " She closed her eyes to keep the tears from flowing.

No she was going to be strong.

She would find out what do to quickly and get it over and done with. She didn't need another thing in her life to stress about. She shook her head and forced out a high-pitched giggle. He looked at her face in surprise. It took all her might to have her mouth curl into a sly grin.

" Gotcha! "

Hermione had caught him off-guard and was now tickling him all over. But she had not planned on getting into a tickling competition with him, she had merely wanted him to stop sounding so… so concerned. Had he sounded more concerned, she would've really cried.

Soon enough they were on floor of the library, trying to tickle each other, giggling loudly. They hadn't noticed that, some students were staring at them with smiles on their faces, and some with disapproving looks, but more importantly, Madame Pince who was standing over them with one of her most famous frowns.

" AHEM! "

They stopped abruptly and stood up quickly, realizing that the librarian was frowning at them as dusted their robes. Hermione was the first to speak. " Sorry 'bout that Madam Pince, we'll keep it down. " Harry nodded fervently and added, " It won't happen again. " Madam Pince looked at them with a look that told them that she was having a mental battle on whether or not she should throw them out of her library. " I hope so. " She said sternly but quietly. " But the next time you two decide to have a little moment please make sure that it is not here in my quiet library. I wouldn't want to have to throw you both out. Other students are trying to get some late night study. "

They threw an apologetic look to most of the students that were studying. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had allowed the older students, the sixth and seventh years, to access the library up until half past ten, as they had a larger and heavier workload. They both took their seats as she walked away to her front desk. Hermione went back to trying to figure out her little dilemma, and Harry went back to finishing his two and a half feet long parchment report on Caring for injured and Ill Blast-Ended Skrewts.

After he had written a paragraph, he was interrupted with a, " Harry, what's the time? " He looked at the charmed watch that she had given him for his birthday, and read out, " Quarter to ten. " She nodded and returned with fiddling with her quill. Another couple of minutes passed, and she sighed as she stood gathering her books. He looked at her with questioning eyes. " I'll be in the Heads' common room, if you need me. " He nodded, and she left the quiet library with the swish of her robes. He looked at the place were she last was. He was really worried about her.

One moment, she looked as happy as though she'd solved all the problems of the world, the next she would sigh her deep, sad-sounding sighs and look like she had failed a subject. He tapped his quill on the table in front of him and pondered about all the weirdness that was occurring within his best friend.

_Start of their year_

_I looked around for them. They said that they would be on the platform waiting for me, and then I saw them. Hermione waved over to me and Ron just smiled. Once I had dodged the crowd and gotten over to them with my luggage, Hermione had given me a huge hug, which almost sent me off balance. Ron tapped on her shoulder after a few moments. _

_" Hey! Sharing is caring you know Hermione! " We all laughed and she allowed Ron to greet me with a hug as well, but not before she playfully swatted him on his shoulder. _

_" Nice to see you again mate! And congratulations on getting head boy! " I nodded a thanks and looked over to Hermione who was clutching her stomach. " What's wrong 'mione? " I asked. Ron had gone ahead and was stating to lift their trunks into the Head Boy and Head Girl's compartment. Her cheeks were stained pink. " J-just getting butterflies in my stomach that's all! " I chuckled and after talking with Ron, both of us assumed that, it was from all the excitement on being Head Girl and the year ahead._

_A few weeks later_

_We were both in the Heads' common room, sitting in front of the blazing fire. She was reading another muggle romance novel, and I was just finishing a two foot long parchment essay for Advanced Potions on Veritaserum and its ingredients. I had thrown my quill down in satisfaction and smiled tiredly as I wrapped the parchment with string. It was midnight and Hermione sighed deeply. _

_" Harry..?? "_

_I looked in her direction and answered, " Yes? " She kept her eyes fixed on the fire and asked, " How much of a friend am I to you? " I looked at her with a strange look, wondering if this was one of her occasional trick questions she pulled on us. But the expression on her face looked of pure seriousness. _

_I walked over to the couch that she was sitting on and pulled her into a hug. We sat there holding each other for a few moments until she pulled away with a small frown on her face. " You didn't answer my question. " I grinned slightly embarrassed that I got caught. I couldn't word how much she meant to me, but tried my hardest anyway. " 'mione, God knows how much of a friend you are to me and how much you mean to me. You're not my friend, because you're more than that. You're my best friend, and probably almost like, what they say, a sister. But I don't know, coz I don't have any other siblings. " She was looking straight into my eyes and it was like she was in a trance. I think she was a little emotional. She startled me with an embrace. I chuckled and soon we both began to laugh.  
_

He smiled at that particular memory. It had taken place a few weeks before and it was probably one of the most memorable moments that he had had with her. He continued with his report and at half pass ten he had finished it to his satisfaction. He smiled happily, knowing that he had completed a very important report that was worth almost a quarter of his year grade. His little moment was interrupted by a not so pleasant voice.

" Well, well, well, what do we have **here**? "

He looked up to see the dreaded, Draco Malfoy at his table holding a book, without his dim-witted sidekicks. Harry saw his lip curl into the famous Malfoy smirk and clutched his wand tighter within his robes.

" Heard you were messing around with head girl? And in the library as well, **Mr Head Boy**! Did you both _finally_ realize, that the wizarding world miracle and the brainiac mudblood were made for each other? " Harry glared at him furiously and tried to control the volume of his voice as he spat out a comeback.

" She's my friend. "

He paused a second and added dripping with sarcasm. " Oh I'm sorry! I forgot. " He glared at Draco with all his anger. " You wouldn't know what a friend was if it bit your arse! Because unlike you Malfoy, I don't have to buy my friendship with Hermione with money! And for your information Hermione is more decent than some so-called Purebloods around here that I know of! "

Malfoy's smirk wattage dropped but he leaned closer to Harry's face and scowled at him. " I don't buy everything with money Potter! I've gone through things you can only dream of, so don't think that you're the only person that can earn something. " He said keeping his voice dangerously low, then he added, " But at least I'm not as dense as you are Potter. You don't even see that, that mud-blood, doesn't consider you a friend anymore. " Harry was confused at his words but didn't let it show.

" Go back to your girlfriend Malfoy! People obviously don't want you here. " He said nodding his head to the students around them leaving with peeved expressions on their faces. Malfoy smirked again but retorted, " _You_ go back to _yours_! " and with that he left the library, leaving a very confused Harry Potter.

Hermione was sleeping peacefully on a couch in the Heads' Common Room, when Harry got back from a long night walk. He stifled a yawn and climbed through the portrait. It was ten past midnight. He draped his father's invisibility cloak on a nearby chair. He had been thinking about what Malfoy had told him about Hermione.

_" At least I'm not as dense as you are Potter. You don't even see that, that mud-blood, doesn't consider you a friend anymore. "…_

_" Go back to your girlfriend Malfoy!…. "_

_…Malfoy smirked again but retorted, " You go back to yours! "  
_

He had figured it out. Malfoy was trying to tell him that Hermione didn't consider him a friend anymore. But he decided that perhaps Malfoy was trying to mess with his mind. He stared down at the rug, focusing on a small pattern, below him. He didn't notice that Hermione had woken up from the bang of the portrait and was now looking at him intently, looking slightly amused.

" Harry.. "

His ears pricked up and looked up to see her grinning. " What were you doing staring at the floor? " She raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. Harry seemed to have snapped out of the serious thinking phase for now and waved his hand. " Just thinking about something. " He threw himself at a chair and slumped down in it. Sighing, he took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. ' Maybe I should ask Ron tomorrow. ' He told himself.

" Harry? Are you in there? "

He raised his head to see his best friend standing there with a cup of tea in her head. " Yes? " Her face broke out into a smile again. " I asked if you would like some tea. " He looked at her in awe. " Y-Yeah thanks… " He wondered how she could look so peaceful just sitting here drinking tea, when she had been looking glum before she left the library. He accepted the tea that she handed to him and brought it to his lips. A small smile played on his lips.

Honey and Lemon Twist.

It had always been her favorite and after she had first offered him some, he and Ron became attached to it. He looked at her. She sat on the couch wrapped up in a warm blanket, holding the tea close to her face, which looked at peace against the fiery flames in the fireplace. Her skin looked soft and unblemished. She had let down her hair into the soft curls, that he was accustomed with in mornings. ' Like silk. ' He had a sudden urge to reach out and run his hands through her hair. His head snapped up and he pinched himself, trying to gain control of himself again.

' Dear Melin! What are you thinking Potter?! She's your best friend! '

She sat there inhaling the vapors that the lemon in her tea was releasing. She had to think of something fast. She had to do something about these feelings that she was developing over her best friend. She battled with herself for what seemed hours but really only a couple of minutes and in the end, she decided to tell him. ' I mean its not _that _big of a deal anyway. I don't really want anything to happen… don't I? ' She frown in her lack of certainty. ' Its Harry, for Pete's sake! Even if I did tell him he wouldn't let it ruin our friendship. She peered through a small crack in her eyelids to look at him. He looked like he was having a mental battle. He turned to look at her, and then to the fireplace.

" 'mione? Are you awake? "

She opened her eyes all the way now and looked at the grandfather clock next to the portrait, which was just behind him. 12:45am. Looking anymore at him could be fatal, and she could do something regretful. " What is it Harry? "

" How much of a friend am I to you? "

Her ears tingled. He looked at her and she lowered her eyes into the teacup looking at it thoughtfully. " …H-Harry… " She paused and she could tell he was tensing, but she plunged ahead before he could interrupt. " …I consider you more than my friend. More than a best friend. Harry… I'm falling in love you. " She shut her eyes tight. She didn't want to see him looking at her incredulously. She tensed and waited for one of the consequences that she had imagined to come. But nothing came. She slowly opened her eyes, and looked at him. She stared at, what she thought was, a small smile playing on his lips.

" Harry, ermm… itsokifyoudon'tfellthesamewaytoo, ihopethiswon'tchangethewayyoulookatmeasyourfriend…. " She said all in one go.

_So this is the way that I say I need you_

His eyebrow raised but it was only a mock action. By now his face had broken out into a full smile, and she looked at him, pleading with ever fibre in her whole body that, even if he did not return the feeling, she hoped that they were still friends. She tried to push away the feeling that his smile had caused her.

" Harry..?? "

He had stood up and placed an arm on top of the fireplace mantle. He looked down into the fire and sighed. Almost complete silence was brought onto the Common Room. A few moments later, Harry finally spoke up. " I…I don't know 'mione. I'm not sure how I feel…." She looked at him. Walking up to him, she placed her hand on his cheek and caressed it with her thumb. She was surprised at her forwardness. He had been mentally ticking off many similarities between his feelings now and his previous feelings with Cho Chang. Most of the boxes were ticked. Harry found his cheek skin burning against her hand.

" I'm certain I love you Harry. But if you don't…"

Hermione's words trailed off. Harry's hand was under her chin now, lifting it up and now they had full eye contact. This was enough to make her whole system fail on her and she was glad to have enough will power in her legs to keep her standing.

" …But I think I love you too… "

_This is the way that I say I love you_

Her eyes widened, her brain slowly registering the words. She stood there in front of him, and the wall that she built, came crumbling down. Large hot tears were falling, but she didn't bother wiping them away. She couldn't care less about anything else in the world right now. Not tears. Not passing grades. Not anything. All she could think of now what that Harry Potter, the boy she had fallen head over heels for, loved her back.

_  
I wanted to tell him. _

_I wanted him to hold me in his arms and tell me that he felt the same way. _

Harry saw tears falling from her eyes and searched his robe pockets for his clean handkerchief. Finding it, he gently wiped away her tears and pulled her close to him. He let her cry her anxiety away with her happy tears. Once she had stopped, he pulled her away gently and looked down at her.

And then he kissed her.

_This is the way that I say I'm yours_

_So this is the way that I say I need you  
This is the way that I say I love you  
This is the way that I say I'm yours_

The next morning, when the sun rose and shone through the cracks of his curtains, Draco Malfoy woke up to the sound of his owl hooting. He growled and yanked his warm blankets off. Running a hand through his hair, he opened his window, let his owl in and took off the envelope and small package attached to its leg. He tore open the envelope, slightly annoyed at the fact that someone owled him early, and read the single piece of paper inside.

_  
Draco,  
__Thanks for getting him thinking. Though you shouldn't have insulted him so much. _

_'Mione_

_PS. If you still need help with your transfiguration, owl me._

He grunted and found a small smile on his face. He opened the package and removed the many layers of paper. He smiled sincerely at the thing that he now held in his hand and put it on his table. He looked at it for a few more seconds before walking out of the room and getting ready for another day of school.

A newly bought gold picture frame now stood on Draco's table, with a picture of him and Hermione as small children running around in a small muggle playground.

* * *

**A/N:** LoL Yes... Hermione and Draco friends as kids… But big bad dad took Draco away and put Narcissa under Imperius curse and then… Poor little Draco could not play with Hermione anymore.. Until they found each other in Hogwarts! 

**Song:** "Learning to Breathe" by Switchfoot


End file.
